Green light for Tolaga Bay Inn's next steps

ENCOURAGED: Publican and Tolaga Bay Inn Charitable Trust trustee Lily Stender, who says the new scoping grant will help get the ball rolling on works at the inn. File photo by Paul Rickard

THE historic 87-year-old inn at Tolaga Bay is a step closer to $1.5 million make-over, after being given the go-ahead to scope out a long-awaited restoration project.

Escalating overheads had threatened the viability of a planned project to restore the inn, before it was placed into the care of a charitable trust earlier this year, and publican and Tolaga Bay Inn Charitable Trust trustee Lily Stender said a new scoping grant would help get the ball rolling.

“Although the charitable trust was set up in April, we couldn’t get the wheels turning. So, with the Lotteries Commission accepting the scoping part is like the green light for us to move forward.”

The 12-week scoping project would be carried out by David Battin at BDO Spicers and Kylie Potae.

Ms Stender said it would provide the blueprint to justify and qualify the restoration project, thought to cost more than $1.5m, including the viability of creating a new and permanent information centre for Tolaga.

“It will also outline the on-site training initiatives we are doing with EIT and supergrans.”

The inn was built in 1866 and then rebuilt in 1930.

A spokesman for the Department of internal Affairs said the Tolaga Bay Inn Charitable Trust had been approved a grant $14,560 from Lottery Community Facilities Fund towards the cost of a feasibility study on redeveloping the Tolaga Bay Inn as a hub for social and economic enterprise on the East Coast.

“The scope will include the case for the restoration of the Inn, and the role the Trust would play in the facilitation of economic and social enterprise.”

THE historic 87-year-old inn at Tolaga Bay is a step closer to $1.5 million make-over, after being given the go-ahead to scope out a long-awaited restoration project.

Escalating overheads had threatened the viability of a planned project to restore the inn, before it was placed into the care of a charitable trust earlier this year, and publican and Tolaga Bay Inn Charitable Trust trustee Lily Stender said a new scoping grant would help get the ball rolling.

“Although the charitable trust was set up in April, we couldn’t get the wheels turning. So, with the Lotteries Commission accepting the scoping part is like the green light for us to move forward.”

The 12-week scoping project would be carried out by David Battin at BDO Spicers and Kylie Potae.

Ms Stender said it would provide the blueprint to justify and qualify the restoration project, thought to cost more than $1.5m, including the viability of creating a new and permanent information centre for Tolaga.

“It will also outline the on-site training initiatives we are doing with EIT and supergrans.”

The inn was built in 1866 and then rebuilt in 1930.

A spokesman for the Department of internal Affairs said the Tolaga Bay Inn Charitable Trust had been approved a grant $14,560 from Lottery Community Facilities Fund towards the cost of a feasibility study on redeveloping the Tolaga Bay Inn as a hub for social and economic enterprise on the East Coast.

“The scope will include the case for the restoration of the Inn, and the role the Trust would play in the facilitation of economic and social enterprise.”